Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a funny animal cartoon character who is the official mascot of The Walt Disney Company. Created by Walt Disney and his cartoonist partner Ub Iwerks, he has become one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world. An anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears outfits with a red, yellow and white color scheme, Mickey is depicted as a pleasant, cheerful everyman with a mischievous and adventurous side, who lives in his own universe with his girlfriend Minnie and various friends. Mickey debuted in Steamboat Willie, one of the first cartoons with sound, in 1928. Mickey went on to star in over 100 short films, and various feature films such as Fantasia. He has also been featured in a newspaper comic strip, several comic book series, television series such as The Mickey Mouse Club, and video games; and has also been a mainstay meetable character at Disney's theme parks. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to be honored with a star on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame." History with the Macy's Parade In the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mickey has appeared as a balloon in four versions. The first balloon appeared in 1934, making him the third pop-culture character to have a licensed balloon in the parade. This balloon was 40 feet high, 26 feet wide, and required 25 handlers. To tie-in with Macy's, Walt Disney himself recommended the balloon have a star on his chest to represent the Macy's Logo. Alongside Mickey in the parade were fellow Disney characters Pluto, Horace Horsecollar, Practical Pig, the Big Bad Wolf, and eventually Donald Duck. In 1936, the balloon got a minor paint job to have a bigger star on his chest. This balloon was retired after 1937. He was moved to Boston for the Santason Parade in 1938 and he hasn't been seen since. A second balloon, which was slightly more colorful, was created and test flighted in 1971 and was scheduled to debut that year alongside Smile to celebrate the opening of the Walt Disney World resort in Florida. However, strong winds reaching up to 60 mph and heavy rain mixed together to create weather unsuitable for flying balloons, thus resulting in the only occasion in parade history where the giant balloons were grounded. And so he started his first march in 1972, appearing alongside his pal Donald Duck. 1935 and 1972 are the only years in the parades history where Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse both appeared in the parade together as balloons. He was the lead balloon for the 1973, 1975 and 1980 parades. The balloon continued to be used until after the 1983 parade due to extreme damage done to the balloon during preparation. He was mentioned in the 1986 parade along with many classic balloons including Donald Duck, Bullwinkle, Yogi Bear and many others. After 17 years of absence, Mickey returned in 2000 with a "Bandleader" balloon, which led that year's balloon lineup. This balloon did not return after that year. Several years later, a fourth balloon of Mickey was made, depicting him as a sailor; it debuted in 2009 to celebrate the announcement of the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships. This new Mickey was retired in 2012, as both ships had set sail by that time. Additionally, Mickey's "meetable character" version from the Disney Parks has appeared in the parade on various occasions. The Mickey walk-around first appeared in the 1968 parade, to celebrate the character's 40th birthday. He later appeared during the second Mickey balloon's test flight, and appeared from 1972 to 1980 on a "Castle" float honoring the then-new Walt Disney World, then in 1981 on a float promoting that park's "Tencennial" anniversary celebration. After 1982, the Mickey walk-around did not appear regularly in the Macy's parade, due to the Disney Parks having their own Christmas Day parade, which was first telecast in 1983 and is filmed exactly one month before Christmas; and also due to Disney's acquisition of ABC, whose affiliate WPVI has since featured Mickey on a "castle" float at its own Thanksgiving Day parade. However, he did return in 1984 on a float celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disneyland, then in 2005 on the special "50th Anniversary of Disney Parks Magic" float where he, a multitude of other Disney characters, and country singer LeAnn Rimes appeared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Disney Parks. MM1934.jpg|The original Mickey balloon being prepared for the 1934 parade. Original Mickey.jpg|The original Mickey balloon making its march. Mickey mouse in 1934.png|Mickey in Times Square 1934 300px-Mickey-mouse-1934.jpg|Mickey in 1934 486237_505497649482429_1831873056_n.jpg|The 2nd Balloon's Test flight Mickey in the 1972 parade.PNG|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1972 Parade thanksgiving2.png|Mickey with Donald (with damaged wing) in the 1972 parade at Herald Square B08943C0-B193-41C1-A817-C79EF1893A16.jpeg|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1973 Parade Mickey.jpg|Mickey in the 1973 parade Gettyimages-97278185-612x612.jpg|Mickey in 1975 1976.PNG|Mickey in the 1974 parade Scan-120126-0143.jpg|The Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1977 Parade Enhanced-buzz-31295-1321637778-9.jpg|Mickey at Herald Square with Snoopy and Linus in the background 1977 Mickey197.png|Mickey in the 1977 NBC Broadcast 14C17824-3192-42C9-9E8F-995859DDCDF2.jpeg|Mickey with Deflated ear in the 1978 parade s-l1600.jpg|Mickey during the 1979 parade 421910_10150728122008185_1764303565_n.jpg|Mickey with Tom Turkey in the 1980 Parade Mickey mouse.JPG|1980 Mickey making his turn 1980parade10.jpg|The Balloon at Macy's Herald Square 1980 DsUSUhSWoAILU-r.jpg Mickey.1980disneymacy'sparade.png|Mickey in the 1981 parade FULL MICKEY SCENE.PNG|the full picture in the 1981 parade F0D0DC91-3CC6-42D1-850F-C285AB700A88.jpeg|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1982 Parade 6364391E-B0D0-4F0B-847F-8D9E50C718D5.jpeg|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1982 Parade 89100003-9E47-4A2B-A58E-FF593D71B9E1.jpeg|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1982 Parade 995417C6-2E62-45A9-A60B-CC036FAFB48D.jpeg|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1982 Parade F0A50799-393D-48E6-95DF-D05FBA4F13C8.jpeg|Mickey Mouse Balloon in the 1982 Parade 529801056.jpg|Mickey battles the high winds in 1982. 4BD3425B-3056-4482-8727-6A02EFD6FC59.jpeg|Mickey with Linus in the 1982 Parade A2F98E0E-6282-48EC-B2D1-0E84394311B9.jpeg|Mickey during the 1982 Parade Bandleader Mickey.PNG|Bandleader Mickey Model Bandleader Mickey.jpg|The "Bandleader Mickey" balloon from 2000. Mickey Walkaround with Leann.jpg|Mickey in walk-around form with LeAnn Rimes in 2005. Sailor Mickey.PNG|Sailor Mickey's Model Sailor Mickey Mouse.jpg|Mickey in Balloonfest 2009 Mickey Mouse.jpg|Sailor Mickey in the 2012 Parade MNY225210.jpg Music Walt Disney Cartoon Music (Also used for Donald Duck) (1971-1974) The New Mickey Mouse Club Theme (1975-1982) Unknown (2000) "Mickey Mouse March" arrangement (2009-2012) Balloon * Mickey Mouse (1934-1937) * Mickey Mouse (1971-1983) * Bandleader Mickey Mouse (2000) * Sailor Mickey Mouse (2009-2012) Total appearances-21 Mascot *Mickey's 40th Birthday (1968-1969) *Test Flight (1971) *Walt Disney World Castle Float (1972-1980) *Walt Disney World Tencennial (1981-1982) *Disneyland's 30th Anniversary (1984-1985) *Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary of Disney Park Magic (2005) External links Mickey Mouse on the Disney Wiki Incidents * In 1978 during the route Mickey got his ear ripped by a lamppost and when he reached Times Square/ Herald Square his ear started leaking helium but survived and made it into Herald Square * In 1981, Mickey's right wrist got deflated for unknown reasons * In 1982, Mickey was pushed around by strong winds eventually hitting a Street Sign, but he was not damaged. * In 1983, Mickey's arm was ripped off during preparation, and later exploded while being inflated. As a result, he was retired from the parade Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Cartoon Characters Category:Movie Characters Category:1934 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:1971 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2000 Macy's Thanksigivng Day Parade Category:2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Big Balloons Category:Retired Balloons Category:First Balloon in the Parade Category:Mouses Category:Disney Characters Category:Animated Shorts Characters Category:30s Balloons Category:70s Balloons Category:2000s Balloons